City Council to move ahead with drafting sit-lie ordinance

CHICO — Faced by an overwhelming public sentiment to address unwanted behavior downtown, the Chico City Council voted Tuesday to proceed with drafting a law barring sitting or lying on downtown sidewalks.

Council members voted 4-2 to move forward, with councilors Tami Ritter and Randall Stone against pursuing a sit-lie ordinance, as such laws are known. After voicing her desire to see antisocial behavior addressed through such mechanisms, Ann Schwab recused herself because of a downtown conflict.

Thirty members of the public spoke about ordinances on which the council had asked for more information on as a way to make the community cleaner and safer. While most comments were directed at sit-lie ordinances, a few were targeted at a social hosting ordinance and an alcohol compliance and education ordinance, both of which also were supported by council for drafting.

The majority of speakers were in favor of a sit-lie ordinance.

"I think it may not be perfect but I think it is the least we can do to help out our business owners, particularly our business owners downtown and our patrons," said resident Sue Hubbard.

Several downtown business representatives mentioned the human waste and trash they face when they show up for work in the morning, the intimidation they feel walking downtown, and businesses that have closed or moved as a result.

"The college community which is so valuable to this community is being poisoned," said Wayne Cook.

Several people, including Chico Police Chief Kirk Trostle, said such an ordinance would be one more tool for police to effectively stop unwanted behaviors.

Not everyone agreed.

Ted Sandberg, on behalf of Greater Chico Homeless Task Force, voiced opposition to a sit-lie ordinance, as did the Chico ACLU and a few residents who said it unfairly targets and criminalizes people for situations out of their control.

Both Ritter and Stone said the city's existing ordinances should be used to address problems, and that without sufficient police staffing, a sit-lie ordinance would also be ineffective.

"You cannot legislate yourself out of vagrancy problems. There must be enforcement," Stone said.

They and others said the city should be looking at other ideas and embracing existing efforts to improve cleanliness and safety, such as the Street Pastors, Downtown Ambassadors and Redirection of Generosity campaign.

Stone also said the city needs to find money to fund officers to enforce the existing laws that already address camping, unleashed dogs, aggressive panhandling and other negative behaviors.

But Councilor Scott Gruendl said that's an unlikely reality, at least in the immediate future.

"People who honestly believe we have the ability to invest in our police department to carry out enforcement, you are living in a false reality at this point," he said.

If the police want more tools, then he wants to help them, he said.

"If I can't add police officers to the police force, I can't not do everything I can to make their tools more effective for the job they face," Gruendl said.

Councilor Sean Morgan and other supporters emphasized that the law does not target the homeless but behavior.

"There are plenty of places to sit in our community but the sidewalk is not one of them. The sidewalks are for people walking," Schwab said.

In giving his support, Mark Sorensen said downtown has become a magnet for people who want to act poorly.

"I'm hearing from some people we should just sit down, shut up and hope they get treatment some day," he said. "I'm just sick of it. I don't like what they have done to the place and I am not going to sit around and wait for some kind of treatment."

Officer Peter Durfee, president of the Chico Police Officers Association, asked for support of all three ordinances and to trust police to enforce them appropriately.

"The reason we are hired as police officers is because of our judgment. We use our judgment every day, whether to write a citation or possibly take somebody's life," he said. "Give us the tools we need to make Chico a cleaner and safer place to live."

The first draft of the ordinance is expected to return for review at the next council meeting.

Also Tuesday, administrative services director Chris Constantin gave a brief update on the city's budget deficit, history of overspending and need to address growing debt. The council asked for a special meeting to be set to discuss those issues specifically.

The final reading for adoption of the plastic bag ban ordinance was tabled because of the full agenda.